CEO Dan Schwinn said the company anticipates certification for the system by year-end. Schwinn said FAA officials he spoke with did not anticipate that federal budget sequestration would adversely affect the agency’s ability to certify the new avionics in a timely fashion. He said an iPad learning tool for the new system is “the exact code base” of the 540.

Schwinn also said that company is making good progress on the design of a new stereo audio panel as well as the ADS-B-compatible AXP-340 mode-S transponder. He expects approval for those by year-end.

Avidyne is also developing “VeriTAS” traffic-detection technology that processes inputs from a variety of ground- and aircraft-based sources in both active and passive modes. The system uses advanced collision avoidance logic designed to “greatly reduce nuisance alerts,” Schwinn said, by using a two-zone system: a larger “protective” airspace zone and a smaller “collision” airspace zone that sets off alerts. The system relies on two parallel algorithms running in concert. The system delivers a “great probability of [a pilot] getting an alert when you need it while greatly reducing nuisance alerts,” Schwinn said, adding that the system’s greater precision comes in part from using ADS-B. “The dimensions for these alert zones are calculated numerous times for each target,” Schwinn said. The company has tested the system by staging hundreds of aircraft encounters and analyzing the data.